1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to drill bits that include one or more acoustic sensors for providing measurements relating to the drill string and/or the formation.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Oil wells, or ‘wellbores,’ are usually drilled with a drill string that includes a tubular member having a drilling assembly (also referred to as the bottomhole assembly or “BHA”). The BHA includes devices and sensors for providing information about a variety of parameters relating to the drilling operations, behavior of the BHA and formation surrounding the wellbore being drilled. To optimize drilling, a driller may control certain drilling parameters such as weight on bit, drilling fluid flow through the drill pipe, drill string rotational speed and drilling mud characteristics. Since the lithology of the formation being drilled is a factor to consider in controlling these parameters, it is desirable to obtain lithological information during drilling. Also, wellbores often have complex three-dimensional trajectories that are designed to optimally intersect and drain one or more hydrocarbon reservoirs. Thus, it is also useful to have accurate information regarding the position or location of the BHA.
Therefore, there is a need for devices, systems and methods for evaluating formations during drilling of a wellbore and determining the position or location of the BHA.